by David and Tracy Bell | Jul 1, 2024
Imagine that you’re a prospective customer who needs workers’ comp insurance.
You’re searching Google looking for an insurance agent that offers the types of policies and services you need for your business.
You find several agents that look like they may have what you’re looking for, and you send each one the same email with a request.
The Story of Three Agents
Warm Welcome. One agent responds to your email inquiry immediately with a reply. He warmly thanks you for reaching out and lets you know that he will get back to you within the next 24 hours. In the interim, he sends information about their process for working with clients, so you know what to expect next. He also points you to a page with a Workers’ Comp checklist that has questions he should ask as you work together.
Unresponsive. Another agent never responds to your email request or phone calls for days or weeks. In fact, you start to wonder if you sent an email to the right address. When you call, you immediately go into a voicemail box but never receive a response.
Minimal Communications. The third agent you reached out to lets a couple of days go by before they send you a response. When they finally do, they merely point you to their website or a landing page. They don’t say anything more. This leaves you hanging wondering about the credibility of the agent.
Tough Questions to Answer
If you were the prospective client looking for help with insurance coverage, which one of the three agents listed above would you want to consider working with?
It is easy to see that the first agent had done a few simple steps to connect with the prospect and provide them with helpful information before they have even spoken.
The other two agent response examples show a lack of interest or consideration. If you were the prospective customer, you would mark them both off your list and focus on the first agent in a heartbeat.
Pause for a moment and think about the way you respond to your clients and prospects.
It can be tough to admit, but which of the three agents do you look most like?
Communicate and Connect with Customers
With any form of customer interaction, you can have success when you follow the age-old rule of treating others the way you want to be treated. Here are a few tips to consider.
Provide Timely, Personalized Responses: Today’s society is built on instant everything. We tend to look for immediate responses whenever we send an email. So how can you apply this? Give your prospects and customers a timely response that is personalized to them. Ensure they experience a connection and feel valued by you.
Write Clear and Concise Messages. We live in an age of sound-bite journalism. We all tend to scan the pages of things we see and read. From our emails to social posts and billboards—we all are guilty of scanning. So how can you overcome the scanning issue? Write clear and concise messages that are easy to understand.
Speak Your Client’s Language. It is easy to get caught up in insurance jargon or industry speak. Remember that your customers don’t have an insurance world dictionary to help them translate what you’re saying when you use buzzwords. Use easy-to-understand terminology and analogies without acronyms when you communicate. Doing so ensures your clients connect with you and what you have to offer.
Make Lists & Use Bullets. Writing a detailed paragraph takes up your valuable time. It also means the person you’re sending it to has to take time to unravel what you’ve written to determine how it applies to them. Consider writing short sentences. Make lists and use bullet points to make what you’ve written a quick read.
Give Calls to Action. Have you ever read through an email response and scratched your head wondering what to do next? Your client has, too. Make it easy on both of you by spelling out exactly what they need to do next. Give them a call to action.
These are just a few ways you can ensure you are effectively communicating and connecting with your clients and prospects. You can also apply this tips to every audience you reach out to – from vendors to carriers to customers and friends. Doing so consistently is sure to make a positive impact and create a win-win situation for everyone.
by David and Tracy Bell | Jun 25, 2024
You want to be successful in your insurance business. Some agents dive in feet first and cross their fingers as they wish for success. Other brokers make a plan and follow it. With either approach, most of us check the box: project/business launch completed. And we quickly move onto the next thing… Right?! We tend to “set it and forget it,” like a Ron Popeil commercial.
While there may be a handful of people this approach works for, the rest of us typically aren’t as fortunate.
If we want to be successful, we need to continually learn and seek ways to improve our insurance business.
Sure, we all know outlandish brokers and agents who run through life jumping from one shiny object thing to the next. While they appear to be successful, they actually leave a wake of chaos and destruction in their path. (The aftermath of a hurricane comes to mind.)
Shiny-object brokers may experience momentary success, but it isn’t sustainable over the long term.
So how can you beat the odds and establish a foundation to propel your insurance business forward systematically?
From a marketing perspective, we recommend creating a strategic plan that you follow like a roadmap. But let’s say you already have a plan. How do you ensure forward momentum and keep up with the accelerated pace of today?
Here are a few guidelines to consider following:
- Continually Learn. Keep reading, searching and listening. With today’s information highway, the options for learning are limitless. From webinars to podcasts to social media platforms – all you have to do is plug in, absorb, digest and apply what you discover.
- Share What You Learn. Keep posting and sharing relevant nuggets and insights with your customers and prospects. In doing so, you’ll position yourself as a thought leader that is plugged in and paving the way for success.
- Find Ways to Connect. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t all about you. It is, however, about connecting with others to see how you can help. (As a Rotarian, we call is Service Above Self.) If you seek ways to help others, you’ll learn volumes about what works and what doesn’t work. By contributing to the lives of others, you feed your soul.
- Genuinely Listen. One of the best ways to continually learn is by really plugging in and listening to what others have to say. Intentionally dig beyond the surface and find out what others are passionate about, what keeps them up at night, and how they are achieving their business and life goals.
- Practice Makes Perfect. Anyone who masters a sport, skill or talent continually practices. They stretch and grow by finding new techniques, approaches, and strategies. No matter what you’re trying to achieve, consistently push to find ways to practice and improve.
- Study Others. Whether it is a new marketing technique or a creative tactic you’ve never tried, there is always something to learn. Find best practices and up your game. Study the masters and learn from the experts.
If you want to be successful, you cannot be stagnant. You have to learn new methods, test them and find the ones that work for you. What methods do you use to continually learn?
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by David and Tracy Bell | Jun 11, 2024
What makes a company successful? It’s the people.
Our mission is to learn more about the abilities of each person we are associated with professionally and personally.
Our company is always looking for great people with a passion for success. We have built the company around the strengths of our people.
When you build a company around people and judge the success of the company based on individuals, you have something special. A company is nothing more than a vehicle for the success of employees, partners, clients and vendors.
I know we’re standing in front of a vintage Rolls in this photo but if you know us, you know we’re more comfortable in beach attire and driving a truck.
A special thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of this company. We look forward to growing the company family and emerging into a position of market leadership. We believe that we are only as good as the people we associate with and we’ve been so fortunate to work with some of the best people in the world.
by David and Tracy Bell | Dec 3, 2022
Looking for some new ways to decorate your home in the holiday spirit? Well look no further. Here are some links you can use now to get ready for the season!
Need a simple way to uplift your home? This handy article shows you really simple ways to add some festive cheer in five minutes or less.
https://tinyurl.com/uplift11221
Looking for some inspiration to decorate without breaking the bank this holiday season? We’ve got you covered with the best places to shop on a budget.
https://tinyurl.com/uplift11222
Do you really want to decorate for the holidays but would rather shy away from the tacky? Have a look at this article, which may inspire some sophisticated festive spirit.
https://tinyurl.com/uplift11223
Sometimes when the holiday season arrives, you just want an easy fix to get you in the spirit, especially if you have little ones running around. Here are 41 simple DIY ways to decorate for the holidays.
https://tinyurl.com/uplift11224
by David and Tracy Bell | Nov 6, 2022
As we move toward the holiday season and prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, a time to come together with the ones we love and be grateful for those around us. Being thankful and expressing gratitude not only brings a wealth of emotional and interpersonal benefits but there are also a surprising number of physical benefits too.
Here are four reasons to practice gratitude and how to do it. Being grateful is proven to reduce depression. Try writing a daily gratitude journal, listing three things you’re grateful for each day. Even if you’re going through a hard time, doing this will help you appreciate the good things around you that you may not have even noticed, reducing your stress levels.
Being grateful improves sleep. Going to bed with a happy thought helps you to throw away nighttime anxiety and sleep more peacefully.
Think of someone who’s affected your life for the better and go and say thank you to them. Thinking of their positive impact on you as you hit the pillow will send you off to sleep soundly. Being grateful improves digestion.
Amazingly, studies have shown that there is a link between our attitudes toward our body and its ability to digest properly. So taking a moment to say to yourself, “I am thankful for my body and what it does for me” can help to actually improve your digestive system’s functions!
Being grateful improves your senses. Showing thanks for the things around you can actually help you have a heightened appreciation of things like scents, sounds and sights. Taking a minute’s break every now and then to simply be grateful for the things in front of you can help improve your senses to no end.
